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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: scale · bat · pitch · root · staff · rest · trunk · kick

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rest — what's left
  8. staff — employees
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitch — completely
  12. kick — in football
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. root — of a word
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. root — of a plant
  22. staff — employees
  23. root — the cause
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com